1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a device which is a conversion of a shopping cart and which has particular usefulness in the distribution and advertising of sample and promotional items by an attendant in a retail environment. In addition, the present invention concerns a method of converting a shopping cart into a mobile dispensing display and a method of advertising and dispensing products in a retail environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Retail store shoppers in supermarkets use shopping carts which are pushed along aisles where the customer selects products from shelves, and then makes the final purchase at a checkout stand. The items are usually selected in a self-service environment by the shopper, collected in the mobile shopping cart, and then unloaded at the checkout stand where their prices are totaled and the purchase is made. Shoppers usually obtain a cart near the store entrance and then move through the supermarket to make their selections.
Product manufacturers often hire attendants to distribute samples and promotional material such as coupons to shoppers moving through the store in order to introduce them to a product and encourage the shopper to select the item being sampled. These attendants often purchase some of the product from the supermarket and then set up a fixed position display in one location in the store. These locations may be in remote or unfavorable locations within the store for encouraging shoppers to purchase the items, and the displays must be dismantled and moved at the end of the day, or even during the day of display depending on the needs of the supermarket operator. The attendant may also need to leave the display in order to replenish the products during the course of the day.
Accordingly, there has arisen a need for an improved device and method of displaying and distributing samples and promotional items in a retail environment where the products being promoted are sold.